Freckles
by Story R. R. Stranger
Summary: Aravis notices something that she hadn't before: Cor has freckles. One-shot.


**Okay so this is my first Cor/Aravis fanfic! It doesn't do them justice however, but after rereading the Horse and His Boy the other day, I just had to write one. I hope you like it in all its mediocrity. :)**

Of all the new, interesting, and unfamiliar things Aravis had encountered since moving in with King Lune and the royal family at Anvard, freckles were one of the most unusual.

She had first noticed them during a particularly nasty quarrel with Prince Cor, soon after they had settled in the castle. They had been so busy shouting at each other, that she had not paid attention to how close their faces were getting. Soon enough, they were nose-to-nose and Aravis saw, with a start, the little brown speckles that stood out against his red-from-anger skin.

On her way back to the castle that same evening, Aravis had scrutinized any Archenlander she passed by, as well as she could from a distance, to see if they all had similar spots over their noses, but was unable to detect any. It was probable that the only reason she had even noticed them in the first place was because she had been so close to Cor. When she had reached her chambers, she leant up close to the looking-glass and examined her face for any signs of the foreign dots. With a sigh, she ran a dark hand over her equally dark, smooth, _clear_ cheek. What had she been expecting to find? She was not fair skinned like Cor, Corin and the other people of Archenland; she was not meant to have freckles, but why had she suddenly started to wish she did?

Perhaps it was because she had found them quite attractive upon noticing them on her friend's face earlier that day. Maybe it was unfamiliarity with the feature that seemed to draw her in. Either way, she thought as she climbed into bed, it was not something worth brooding over.

"Do you know something?" Cor asked Aravis. He was sitting beside her at the edge of a meadow not too far away from the castle.

"What?" Aravis responded, turning her gaze away from the setting orange sun and focusing on Cor's face.

"We've been here for four years."

Aravis did not say anything right away. She looked away from Cor, back to the sun that was almost hidden by the mountains, with a thoughtful expression on her face. "And Corin can still knock you down just as easily as he could four years ago," She said, partly to fill the silence and partly to make him mad.

"What an awfully rude thing to say!" Cor sputtered, his cheeks growing red with embarrassment. "I say, I can take him anytime."

"Oh, of _course_ you can," Aravis scoffed. "Anyhow, I was only joking, there's no need to get worked up about it."

"I think there is," Cor said, attempting to preserve some of his dignity. "I'm to be king of this country, the least you can do is treat me with some respe—"

"By the Lion, Cor!" Aravis cut in loudly. "You _are _self-centered, aren't you?"

"I am not, I just think that since you – "

"Since I what?" Aravis again cut him off, glaring, daring him to finish what he was about to say. Though they hadn't been quarreling for long this time, they're faces where already quite close to one another's and Aravis's eyes again focused on Cor's freckled nose. She almost gave up the fight as she felt a strange fluttering sensation in her stomach at the sight and felt heat rise in her face.

"Since you, er," Cor faltered and broke his eye contact with Aravis for a moment. Almost without skipping a beat however, he looked back up and seemed to steel himself. A split-second later, Aravis saw his freckles closer than she ever thought she would. Cor kissed her. Her first impulse was to pull away (this would give her a _real _reason to be angry at him), but soon enough she found that she was enjoying it, and surrendered to the moment.

When they broke apart, they both turned back to the sun. It was invisible behind the mountains, though some of its light was still visible.

"So, four years?" Aravis said, glancing over at Cor.

Cor nodded. "Aye. I can't believe it's taken me that long."

Aravis teasingly smacked his freckled cheek with her hand.


End file.
